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AssigneesToyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha, Kabushikikaisha Equos Research
InventorsHiroshi Sugiura, Tetsuhiro Ishikawa, Masao Ando, Kenji Kato
Estimating the term…
A power supply unit operation is switched depending on a load requirement. Namely, when the load requirement is smaller than a predetermined value, operation of a fuel cell system is stopped and electric power is obtained from a secondary battery during an intermittent operation mode. Alternatively, when the load requirement is equal to or larger than the predetermined value, the electric power is obtained from a fuel cell during a steady operation mode. When the electric power is generated by the fuel cell in the steady operation mode, an amount of fuel supplied to the fuel cell is detected, and an operation point of the fuel cell is set in consideration of the fuel amount. However, when the operation mode is switched from the intermittent operation mode to the steady operation mode, and the fuel cell system is activated, the operation point of the fuel cell is set depending on the load requirement without considering the fuel amount until a predetermined time elapses after the activation.
A control method of a power supply system in which a fuel cell and a battery are connected in parallel by a power supply wiring, comprising the steps of:
A power supply system, comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
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Power, energy, capacity or load: of auxiliary devices, e.g. batteries, capacitors
Power, energy, capacity or load: of fuel cell stacks
Power, energy, capacity or load: of auxiliary devices, e.g. batteries, capacitors
Characterised by variables to be controlled: shut-off or shut-down of fuel cells
Term end not estimated
The disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-109386 filed on Apr. 11, 2002 including the specification, drawings and abstract is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to a power supply system including a fuel cell and a battery, and a control method thereof.
FIG. 1 is an exemplary block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an electric vehicle according to a first embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a schematic configuration of a fuel cell system;
FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a relation between an output current, and an output voltage or output electric power from a fuel cell;
First, an entire configuration of a device according to an embodiment of the invention will be explained.
FIG. 1 is an exemplary block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an electric vehicle 10 according to a first embodiment of the invention. The electric vehicle 10 includes a power supply unit 15. As loads to which electric power is supplied from the power supply unit 15, a high-voltage auxiliary machine 40 and a driving motor 32 which is connected to the power supply unit 15 through a driving inverter 30 are provided. Wiring 50 is provided between the power supply unit 15 and the loads, and the electric power is exchanged between the power supply unit 15 and the loads through the wiring 50.
The power supply unit 15 includes a fuel cell system 22 and a secondary battery 26. The fuel cell system 22 includes a fuel cell which is a main body for power generation, as will be described later. The secondary battery 26 includes a fuel cell which is a main body of the power generation, as described later. The secondary battery 26 is connected to the wiring 50 through a DC/DC converter 28, and the DC/DC converter 28 and the fuel cell included in the fuel cell system 22 are connected in parallel by the wiring 50. A diode 42 for preventing an electric current from flowing back to the fuel cell is further provided on the wiring 50. Further, a switch 20 for switching the connection of the fuel cell to the wiring 50 is provided on the wiring 50. Also, in order to measure a voltage in the power supply unit 15, a voltmeter 52 is further provided on the wiring 50.